Air suspension



July 7, 1959 R. H. HANCOCK AIR SUSPENSION Filed Mayzs, 1957 l. i INVENTOR. zazJ/Q/wfm BY a States General"Motorsorporating-Detrt,'2Mich., arcor-potraton :ofv Delaware Y "The` present inventionlhasrto Ado-.with fthe .-uniquelo- `Ication and c'onnection ofy shock absorbers provided between Asprung and:` unsprungportions of automotive rve- `hicles utilizingrpneumatic suspensions. ".Theuseof pneu- .matic bellows .betwecnsprung and -unsprung portions of .-vehi'cles,- ,inv some. instances, requiresl more.v spaceA `thanthe ,spi-ingsofprior suspensionsnbecause of 'themee'd for sufl- -ncient aircontaining:volumeA to Aprovide v,the suspension .with .the I`proper springv Icharacteristics. Consequently, such space previously has been lost.v for the location of many other parts of the lvehicle -alsorelated to its suspension. .The presenti invention, fhowever, takeseadvantage of this so-`c`alle`d lost 'space by 'uniquelyv locating shock absorbing assemblies concentr-ioallywithin the bellows ,t so.. that not only is the shock absorber-protected but it is rp-placed` in 3a' location which would otherwise. constitute through andy -is1 lixed -tol the= lower arms 26. 4`end of can-34 A4isprovided `with .any internallyI threaded extension 42 which `has-.threaded therein a :plug144-closing `the lower rend ofacontainer 34. Thusyit fwillg-be readily appreciated that the .f frame member` 2 will V.be

2,893,104 ce @Patented-July 1y-12959 which, as indicated by the welds 36, 38 and-40, extends {The lower resiliently supported by-the -arm f6.-throughf..the,fmedium f of anlfair l-bellowsassembly20-y when such -assembly-,is -suitably inated. -Air may --be-vsupplied-and -exhausted from bellows -20 Vand theA interior. of.1 frame rmember.l 2

in the-usual manner` by. means-oa valveassembly-con- .nected to anairs-pressure source-and. exhaust-port -(-not shown), whichfvalve-assembly-is actuated-bytrfarm-46 y f.sensing-changesainedeection fbetween. fframe member: 2 .land arm 6. fMovement, of arm 102toward.rrnmbergZfis ...limited f-by resilient stop t48y adapted -to engagez-thef'end I18 ofmember-Z. Also,--movement offrame-2tand arm 6 toward-each other is limited-by. resilient Vstop l50 Ylocated withinthe can v22 andfastened-to the1upper wallf24 ythereof. AThe 'lower end -of :thestOprS .is t adapted to; abutfthe --upper endof lower` can` 34 and thel lower- Avedge Vofedia- .phragrn 32.

Concentrically located-within-the` air bellowsfassembly .120 is a` shock-absorbing-v-assembly-52. @This assembly-has the rod-1 end-r54-thereof. eXtendingIfthrough-the openings tlwand "-128 finto-the interior-.of member112 and upwardly rltlirouglnthe upper-wall56fthereof. The rod-end :ist pro- `-lo'st"space,A T Unique means arealsoprovided@fonsimply arid `qi1ickly changing'such vshocks in 'the event there is need for their replacement or repair.

For a better understanding of the invention and the objects thereof, reference may be had to the accompanying detailed description taken in combination with the single sheet of drawings which represents a single front elevation view with parts in section and broken away of a portion of an automotive vehicle having a pneumatic suspension including a uniquely located and connected shock absorber.

Referring to the drawing, a transversely extending vehicle front frame member 2 is shown having pivotally fastened thereto at pivotal point 4 a lower arm 6. Also fastened to the frame member 2 for pivotal movement about point 8 in a plane including member 2 is an upper arm 10. The ends of these arms are pivotally linked together by a knuckle support 12 which supports the knuckle assembly indicated gener-ally by numeral 14. The knuckle assembly 14 has in a conventional manner a wheel spindle fixed thereto for rotatably supporting wheel hub 16. Interposed between an end 1S of frame member 2 and lower arm 6 intermediate the ends thereof is an air bellows assembly indicated generally by a numeral 20. Assembly 20 includes an upper can or container 22 having an upwardly facing wall 24 welded or otherwise suitably secured to a plate 26 forming the lower wall of member 2. It will be observed that member 2 is hollow as indicated by the broken away portion at its end 18 to thereby form an air containing reservoir to increase the volume of air available for compression and expansion during action of the air bellows assembly 20. A wall or obstruction is located in frame 2 to the left of pivotal point 4 when viewing the drawing, which prevents any loss or transmittal of air located in member 2 beyond the wall. The plate 26 and wall 24 are provided with aligned openings 28 and 30 which allow free communication of air between the interior of member 2 and the upper can 22. Suitably clamped to the lower edge of can 22 is the upper edge of a resilient cup-like bellows or diaphragm which is preferably made of rubber composition. The opposite end of this bellows is clamped to vided 4Vwith -upperi andnlowerl resilient .spherical-ly-shaped .bushing-assemblies frSEI-and 69,1 respectivelyflocated von .opposi-te. sides ofwall-S6- which; noe only; vprevent ,metal as sealing means for the hole in end wall 56 through which the end 54 of the rod end shock absorber '52 extends. The lower end of shock absorbing assembly 52 is provided with a threaded stud 62 which extends through an opening provided in plug 44. Again, in this case double frustum-shaped rubber bushings 63 are located on stud 62 on opposite sides of the upper wall of plug 44 so as to prevent metal to metal contact and also act as seals to prevent the loss of any air from the air bellows assembly 20 or the interior of the frame member 2 through plug 44.

To remove the shock asborbing assembly from the interior of the air bellows assembly 20, it is merely necessary to remove the nut `64 on the rod end 54 of the shock absorbing assembly and also the upper resilient bushing 58. The plug 44 is then unscrewed and the entire shock absorber assembly may be removed as a unit thereby facilitating simple and expeditious maintenance' and repair or replacement.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the interior of the air bellows assembly has been taken advantage of in a unique way to desirably locate a shock absorbing assembly which is not only protected but enables valuable space between sprung and unsprung vehicle portions which would otherwise be lost to be utilized. Similar advantage is taken of the interior of the bellows to uniquely locate limit stops between the sprung and unsprung portions, By providing a unique plug and suitable fastenings for the upper and lower ends of the shock absorber, it may be easily and quickly removed for any attention it might need.

I claim:

1. In a front wheel vehicle suspension including a hollow frame member forming an air reservoir, a lower arm pivotally connected to said frame member for movement in a vertical plane containing said frame member, a resilient air bellows assembly interposed between said frame member and arm removed from said pivotal point and supporting said frame member on said arm, said bellows assembly having an open upper end in registry with an opening in said frame member, and shock absorbing means concentrically located within said bellows and having a lower end secured to said arm and an upper end extending through said opening and secured to said I` frame member.

2. In a vehicle front end suspension including a transversely extending frame member having upper and lower arms pivotally connected thereto, a knuckle support pivotv ally linking the free ends of said arms together, an air bellows assembly interposed between and connected to theunderside of said member and said lower arm rel moved from the point of pivotal connection of said lower arm to said member whereby said member is resiliently supported thereby on said lower arm, shock absorbing means concentrically located within said bellows, said shock absorbing means having a lower end and fastened to saidflower arm and an upper end fastened to said shock absorbing assembly between said sprung and unsprung assemblies resiliently supporting one on the other for movement relative thereto and for damping such movement, comprising an upper container fixed to said sprung assembly and a lower container xed to the un-y sprung assembly, a cup-shaped llexible diaphragm p hermetically connecting said containers together and forming therewith a resilient air bellows assembly, one 'f of said containers having an open end, a removable plug secured in said open end, and a shock absorber located within said bellows assembly of smaller diameter than 4 said plug and having a lower end secured thereto and an upper end secured to the sprung assembly.

4. In a suspension including sprung and unsprung assemblies, a combined air containing resilient bellows and shock absorbing assembly between said sprung and unsprung assemblies resiliently supporting one on the other for movement relative thereto and for damping such movement, comprising an upper Ysubstantially vertically extending container fixed to said sprung assembly and a lower substantially vertically extending container fixed to the unsprung assembly in alignment with said upper container, a cup-shaped llexible diaphragm extending between said containers hermetically connecting said containers together and forming therewith a resilient air bellows assembly, the lower of sai'dcontainers having a lower open end, a removable plug secured in said open end, a substantially vertically extending shock absorber located within said bellows assembly of smaller diameter than said plug and having an upper end securedito said sprung assembly and having a stud on the lower end thereof extending through a hole in said plug, a pair of resilient rubber bushings mounted on said stud on opposite sides of the hole through which said stud extends and fastening means to maintain said bushings in sealing engagement with said plug whereby slight freedom of movement of said stud is alforded relative to said plug without metal to metal contact and leakage about said hole is prevented.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,056,106 Kuhn sept. 29, 1936 2,226,605 Geyer et al. Dec. 3l, 1940 2,692,618 Ludowici Oct. 26, 1954 

